Air Toxics deposition over Alaska

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Air Toxics deposition over Alaska
2002 PBT Monitoring Strategy workshop Raleigh,
NC April 22 24, 2002
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Boundaries of the Arctic

• In the North Atlantic, the southern boundary
  follows 62N, and includes the Faroe Islands.
• To the west, the Labrador and Greenland Seas.
• In the Bering Sea area, the southern boundary is
  the Aleutian chain.
• Hudson Bay and the White Sea are considered part
  of the Arctic for the purposes of the assessment.
• In the terrestrial environment, the southern
  boundary in each country is determined by that
  country, but lies between the Arctic Circle and
  60N.

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Study Areas in Alaska
Radiation/Persistent Organic Pollutants Health -
unknown, unfair, and scary Solutions - Local
Sources Cultural Considerations - Is my food
safe? Is my culture safe?
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• Atmospheric processes
• Air from mid-latitudes moves northward with its
  load of contaminants, it rises, forming layers of
  dirty air at higher altitudes.
• Pollution released into the Arctic air mass tends
  to remain within a couple of kilometers of the
  ground because of temperature inversions that
  create a lid of cold air.

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• Arctic haze
• Arctic haze is seasonal Peak in Spring.
• Originated from anthropogenic sources outside the
  Arctic.
• The most severe episodes occur when stable
  high-pressure systems produce clear, calm
  weather.

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• Why is Arctic haze important?
• It completely changed the earlier notion that
  aerosol pollution could only be local or
  regional.
• The cold, dry air in the polar regions allows
  particles to remain windborne for weeks rather
  than days.
• Allows contaminants to spread from industrial
  sources in Eurasia and North America across the
  entire Arctic.

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• Haze particles give metals and other contaminants
  a free ride to and within the polar region.
• Metals and some persistent organic compounds
  adhere to aerosols and deposited along with the
  aerosols
• Substantial amounts of industrial and
  agricultural contaminants wash out by
  precipitation occurring over the Arctic.

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• Some sources of contaminants to the Arctic
• Organic/Inorganic toxics from sources such as
  combustion of fossil fuels, agriculture,
  manufacturing and mining.
• The major source regions are industrial and
  agricultural areas further south in Eurasia,
  North and Central America.

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Comment from an elder Matthew Bean, a Yupik
Eskimo elder from Bethel, Alaska, describes the
changes he has seen in the sky Sometime back,
the skies on a clear day used to be deep blue all
over, even at the horizon. Now you hardly ever
see that anymore, especially on the horizon. It
is always pale blue, almost white or even dirty
gray. It makes me sad to see what future
generations are going to have to put up with.
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Study Areas in Alaska
Modeling/Monitoring - Status of Class I areas?
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Study Areas in Alaska
Particulate Matter Monitoring sites speciation
monitor at the 16th Garden CO/PM10/PM2.5 site
in Anchorage Most monitoring occurred in mid
-1990s in Mat-Su Valley, Anchorage and Juneau in
mid-1990s. All monitoring then was PM10 State
and Tribes established a collaborative program,
starting with PM, to assess general air quality
in Tribal Alaska initially, 17 Tribes. - 72
other Tribes on standby awaiting funding.
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• Measurements of toxic organic compounds in polar
  bears have shown unexpectedly high levels
  Norway Canada
• Study of traditional foods from the sea showed
  that some people in native communities in Canada
  ingested high levels of PCB in their diet.
• Study of sea mammals in the Bering sea region
  showed high levels of mercury and dioxins.
• Studies on fish and plants indicate increases in
  levels mercury and organic toxics in Alaska

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• Speculation?
• Local sources of Toxics could not explain the
  high levels.
• It must have been transported from regions
  outside the Arctic.
• Its geographical characteristics and cold climate
  make the Arctic a sink for many contaminants that
  are spread around the globe.

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One-hop/Multi-hop contaminants

• These contaminants start their journey with a
  ride on north flowing winds from the source.
• They are often labeled one-hop contaminants.
  Sulfates, non-volatile metals, and radionuclides
  are some examples. Non-volatile organic compounds
  behave the same way.
• Multi-hop Contaminants - Same as One-hop
  contaminants but their journey are characterized
  by deposition along the way and re-volatizing
  and be airborne multiple times.

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• The distances over which contaminants travel are
  determined
• the location of their sources in relation to the
  Arctic air mass
• precipitation patterns
• distances the air mass moves during the
  atmospheric lifetime of the particles
• NOTE
• In the Arctic winter - particles can stay in the
  air as long as 20 to 30 days.
• In summer - the contaminants usually stay in the
  air for only 2 to 5 days.

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• Modeling
• Where do contaminants come from?
• How do they get from one point to the other?
• Much of what is known about contaminant transport
  comes from computer models that mathematically
  simulate pathways.
• The input to the one-hop models
• Emissions
• Meteorological conditions such as winds and
  precipitation
• Equations describing processes that change/remove
  the chemical and physical characteristics of the
  compounds in/from the air.
• Models for multi-hop compounds are much more
  complex.

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The Common Denominator
Sovereignty and Local Control - Sampling,
Health Assessment, and Solutions Capacity
Building Local and Cultural Considerations -
Respect Trust Consideration of Federal Rules -
Sometimes do not address well the needs of Tribes
and rural communities
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COOPERATION
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Comments Questions

• Francis Chin
• Environmental Program Manager
• Maniilaq Association
• P. O. Box 256
• 733 2nd Avenue,
• Kotzebue, AK 99752
• Tel [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Email fchin_at_maniilaq.org
• Website maniilaq.org